


That's Boring, You're Boring

by oinkjungjung



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Nerve (2016) Fusion, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:28:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22374922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oinkjungjung/pseuds/oinkjungjung
Summary: It’s 2020 when Zhengting decided it was time for a change, and somehow the way he was going to achieve this was through a game called Nerve?aka the nerve au but without the second half of the movie
Relationships: Cai Xukun/Zhu Zhengting | Jung Jung
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	That's Boring, You're Boring

**Author's Note:**

> Watching the movie beforehand is not needed but some terms may be more confusing: player - people who carry out the dares, watcher - people who watch the players and decide dares for players, bail - withdraw from the game when the player cannot continue carrying out the dares
> 
> Some plot points are similar to the movie but I left out the entire second half for the sake of plot and fluff haha. Still do really like and recommend the movie though

As the last note to the tune he’s been listening to for the umpteenth time now faded out, Zhengting threw a glance over to the clock. It’s just past 12, he had spent the last moments of the decade slogging away in the practice room and 2020 had kept up on him without him knowing.

Plopping down onto the hard wooden floors, Zhengting brought his knees in, throwing his two arms around them as he rested his head on top, curling into himself as much as he could, as though he could make himself any smaller, any less significant.

Zhengting’s eyelids flutter to a close, memories of the past year flashing by in his head. Scenes of him in class, at home, in his dance practice room kept repeating themselves, but no, he wasn’t replaying the same days over and over. Those were different days. 

It was just that every day seemed about the same.

Getting up and turning around to look at the room around him, the only thing Zhengting saw was his own reflection in the mirror walls. 

“I just spent the entire day cooped up in here alone. What a way to spend the last day of the year,” he thought to himself.

Just then, the memories of Xukun smiling at him that morning surfaced. Zhengting had met him along the empty corridors of their dorm rooms. Most people had left, went back home for the holidays but it seemed Zhengting wasn’t the only one who chose to stay. This thought brought a smile onto his lips as he picked up the things he had thrown all over the practice room. Bundling himself up with way too many pieces of clothing, Zhengting trudged back to the dorm, braving the cold winter winds blowing against him.

Lying in bed, Zhengting thought to himself, maybe 2020 is the year for change. Maybe it’s time he started doing something with his life. Maybe it’s time to live.

The next morning, Zhengting found himself still lying in bed, with Xiao Gui’s contact opened in front of him. And that he had been like this for the past ten minutes. 

“Come on Zhu Zhengting, you can do this. It’s just a call, and it’s to Xiao Gui, what’s there to worry about? It’s not anything you haven’t done before.” Zhengting blabbered on, giving himself the ‘prep talk’ he had no idea why he needed. With a finger just millimeters away from the call button, Zhengting willed himself to press the damn button but found himself chickening out and making a huge fuss over it every time, arms flailing around.

And it was when he was about to give it another attempt when he realised the call was already dialling.

“Wait, when did I even call. No, this was totally what I intended in the first place, no worries. Nothing to worry about…” going off into another little ramble, only being cut off when Xiao Gui’s voice sounded from the opposite end.

After going in circles trying to explain to Xiao Gui why he was calling, and that he wanted to ask the resident fun lover how to live, cheeks burning an obvious red but no one had to know about that, Zhengting was silenced by a simple “So it took the decade ending for you to realise you are not living huh.”

Was he really that much of a downer that even the people around him think that he had no life?

“I’ll send you a link, go on there and be a player,” Xiao Gui said, all ready to hang up but was immediately stopped by Zhengting with his endless bouts of questions, “What’s that? What’s a player? Is it safe?”

Xiao Gui explained that it is a game called Nerve, and that it is basically truth of dare, but with just the dare element. Players will be given dares to complete, and they have to film themselves doing it. Once completed, the players will get paid.

Hearing this, the gears in Zhengting’s head immediately refused, but it was as though Xiao Gui had already expected it coming as he promptly went on about how this was the best way for Zhengting to break away from his comfort zone. 

“The game will come up with the dares for you and you just need to do them. I know the kind of person you are, Zhu Zhengting. If I just told you go try something crazy, you would spend forever just thinking of something to do.”

“Give it a shot, Zhengting. Stop playing safe for once.”

Similar to before, it took Zhengting yet another who knows how long before he managed to finally bring himself to open the link sent to him and download Nerve. Clicking on the ‘player’ option, Zhengting keyed in his player ID: zhengzheng.

“Here goes nothing.”

The moment the live stream started on Zhengting’s phone, watchers started entering, chat messages attached to Zhengting’s stream also started pouring in. 

W68393 just entered the stream  
W80640: oh, new player  
W74684: cute

Accepting his first dare, Zhengting quickly grabbed on his coat and headed for the café down the streets as told.

Upon reaching, his dare showed up. “DELIVER THE NEXT ORDER AND EAT IT” his phone screen showed, the neon yellow block letters standing out against the reflection of his own face recorded from the secondary camera of his phone. Below the line of words was a big “$100” as though afraid he would miss it.

From the very moment Zhengting’s brain had processed the words he saw, he could already see how outcome of his actions if he did accepted. He could see himself being totally and utterly embarrassed as hurriedly made his way out with his tail tucked between his legs, face flushed bright red. He couldn’t help it, he was shy like that.

Just as he was all ready the back out, the little devil atop his shoulder, or maybe it was the angel who knows, reminded him of his little revelation last night. “Stop playing safe, let loose a little.”

With that, on the spur of the moment, Zhengting swiped right to accept the dare before he could beat himself up over it. “Ok, Zhengting, you have accepted it now. No backing out.” He muttered to himself.

And it was as though his trick had worked its magic because it took barely a couple of seconds before Zhengting had fetched the next order from the waiter and arrived at the table it was for, phone in his chest pocket filming the entire scene.

With his head lowered, Zhengting sat the slice of cake down far away from the single customer at the table, and plopped down on the seat right in front of it. The next few seconds were a blur in Zhengting’s head, but the next thing he knew, the fork was between his lips, a small piece missing from the cake. 

Fearing that he would be beatened up over this, Zhengting immediately started apologising, words of apology spilling out of his mouth non stop as he started blabbering. And it was precisely because of this that Zhengting failed to notice the distinct “dare complete” ding that came from his phone.

“I’ll pay for the cake, I am sorry.” Zhengting said, looking up at the customer for the first time since he arrived. Instantly, he could feel his cheeks burning even brighter as he was met with the sight of someone he did least expect, Xukun. He had an amused smirk on his lips as he looked straight into Zhengting’s eyes. At that moment, Zhengting felt as though he was going to explode. 

“I have never even been within Xukun’s three meter radius before and the very first time I am seeing him up close is when I ate his cake!!!! No!!!!!” Zhengting could feel the voice in him screaming but it was interrupted as Xukun said the first words he had ever said to Zhengting, “Are you hungry? You can have it.”

At that very moment, Zhengting wondered if flinging himself out of the window could help erase this entire debacle.

Jumping up onto his feet, Zhengting decided his best course of action now was to flee but just as he was about to run off after throwing a short “Er I have to go now” behind, a familiar dare alert ring came from Xukun, stopping Zhengting right where he stood. Turning around slowly, he saw the Xukun glancing at his phone quickly before looking up at him with a smile.

“You embarrassed yourself in front of me, now let me return that. Stay and watch me?”

As Zhengting found himself plopping ungracefully down again on the same seat, Xukun handed his phone over, having Zhengting help him film his dare for him which apparently was to sing and dance for… him… Because surely there has to be a reason that would explain why Zhengting ended up with pretty much a first row VIP seat for that little performance as Xukun broke into a cute little love song, following it with a couple of simple dance moves here and there.

While Zhengting’s heart was cheering in glee, as evidenced by the way his heart was fluttering, he was also sure that he was blushing so badly it was seem as though all his blood had rushed up to gather at his cheeks.

As the short 3 minutes was over, the dare was complete, signalling the end of their sweet little encounter, one Zhengting thought he would cherish in his heart despite how embarrassed he was. That was until the same dare alert came from both their phones at the same time.

“GO TO THE CITY WITH HIM $200”

And when Xukun had reached a hand out, asking Zhengting to join him, the latter took it, marking the start of his little adventure. 

Finding himself seated in Xukun’s car, the two made their way downtown amidst silence. While the two had known of each other’s existence all these time, even going on to greet each other with a smile whenever they crossed paths, that was where their interaction ended. So now that they were stuck in an enclosed area alone, with both their phones filming the entire journey, they suddenly found themselves at a loss of words.

But is it strange if Zhengting said that he didn’t find this uncomfortable at all. Despite the lack of words shared by the two, with the soft hum of the engines and the sound of traffic being the only sounds picked up by their phones, the silence was comfortable as though there was a mutual understanding between them that no words could match.

During this time, Zhengting leaned back into his seat, cherishing this opportunity he had to admire Xukun upclose for the first time. He always knew the other was good looking, but seeing him upclose, Zhengting could feel his heart swooning even more.

Meanwhile, Xukun could feel the gaze on him during his drive and he tried his best to act as though nothing happened, willing himself to continue in his drive, not wanting the owner of the gaze to notice and stop. He didn’t want to embarrass Zhengting, he told himself. But was this true when he had just found himself enjoying the bashful look on the latter’s face earlier on?

Eventually, the car came to a halt by the streets and the two split ways as they both received their own set of dares. While a part of Zhengting didn’t quite want this little moment of theirs to end, another part of him was grateful for even having this chance in the first place, keeping the memory of today close to his heart.

Seeing how the previous moments of bravery had allowed him to interact with Xukun, Zhengting wasted no time in accepting the next dare, “TRY ON THIS SUIT” with an image of a black suit paired with a vibrant red button down underneath it.

With a pretty tight time limit attached to this dare, Zhengting made a quick dash into the store, up to the third floor where the men’s section is and quickly located the outfit on a mannequin and asked try it on. Thankfully he had shopped here rather often and was able to manuever himself around with ease, otherwise, he doubt he would have enough time to try the clothes on properly.

Once alone in the fitting room, Zhengting made it a point to bury his phone in his coat before changing because call him careful, conservative or whatever other words you want but he wasn’t about to film himself changing for everyone to see. 

With the ample time he had left, Zhengting pulled off his pullover and jeans, throwing on the way too many layers of clothes he was told to wear. First, there was this red mesh botton down, and then another silk button down to go over that. Then it was the black suit with red and silver embellishments all over. Taking his time, Zhengting made sure they were immaculate before digging his phone out just as the allocated time was about up.

So there he was, as he waited for a response from the game, mesh shirt buttoned up low and silk shirt buttoned even lower, with only the fourth and fifth button holding the entire shirt in place. Tucking in only one side of both shirts, Zhengting allowed the whole outfit to seat loosely on his frame, looking as though any slight bit of moment would send it falling off him, exposing the smooth and fair skin barely concealed underneath.

While Zhengting was no stranger to dressing up, because what’s wrong with wanting to look the best you can be, even he was slightly at awe at how he looked. All these while, he had never really veered off from his usual preppy style of dressing, often looking very neatly put together and never once straying so far away from being his usual cute self.

But looking at himself now, he thought, maybe there could be a seductive side to him too. 

Looking up at his hair, Zhengting found that his typical bangs down look didn’t quite fit in with everything else he had going on, looking way too much of the obedient student he was. But reaching up to try and pull them into a different hairstyle, Zhengting found that he didn’t quite know what to do with them. 

And it was at that moment Zhengting felt a pair of hands turning him around before sinking into his hair and brushing them apart. 

After taking a couple of moments to recover from his shock, Zhengting came face to face with the person he thought would not have a chance to see again for the day. There, barely an elbow’s distance away was Xukun who was also decked out in a fresh set of clothes, the deep v of the white top standing out against the black suit lined with red. 

Zhengting could feel the warmth of his fingers against his hair, he could feel the warmth of his breath against his face, he could see the warmth in his eyes as he looked at him.

“You look amazing,” Zhengting believed he heard.

Not wanting Xukun to witness his face turning as red as his shirt, Zhengting turned away, wanting to hide back into the fitting room and in his usual clothes but he was stopped as a hand shot up to pull him back. Xukun held up his phone with the other hand, showing him the new dare on it, “I have to get you new shoes to go with this look.”

Looking down at his so out of place white sneakers, Zhengting was whisked off to the shoes section.

After way too many flirtatious remarks and blushing cheeks, the two finally parted yet again to their respective fitting rooms. But this time, it took them barely a minute for them to reunite yet again when their clothes and wallets left behind in the fitting rooms were missing.

And when they both received the dare “LEAVE THE STORE”, Zhengting could feel his blood pressure rising as he found himself utterly annoyed at this situation, what exactly did the game expect them to do?

As the two minute countdown started, Xukun started worrying for the person before him. “Maybe the game was very important to Zhengting? But I can’t just let him leave and commit a crime for a stupid game like this. Maybe I can bail from the game and stay behind? I can get someone to come down and pay for us first, then Zhengting can continue on in the game,” Xukun thought to himself, gears turning fast in his head.

But just as he was about to make his suggestion to Zhengting, the latter grabbed onto his arm and pulled them both to the cashier. And before Xukun could comprehend what happened, Zhengting had already paid for both their clothes with his phone, thank you technology, even when the total cost amounted to more than than the $2500 reward for this dare.

Silently cursing at himself for having forgot all about this option, Xukun could finally lighten up a little and that was when he noticed the way Zhengting was still puffing his cheeks as he continued to drag him out of the store and to Xukun’s car. Oh how he wanted to pinch those two round cheeks.

“So, you’re not playing for the money?” Xukun asked.

“Well, between losing some money and commiting a crime, I would much prefer the former.”

On the other hand, Zhengting was aware that he was sulking but he couldn’t help it and couldn’t be bothered to stop it. It wasn’t even about the money, but just how annoying it would be to deal with this whole incident. He was now out in the city in the cold winter without his coat, and not exactly dressed for the weather either. If Xukun can’t drive him around, he’s going to be stuck in the freezing cold until he managed to get a ride back home. And not to forget, he had all his ID and bank cards in his wallet, he going to have so much to do once he got home.

Fortunately, when the two had reached where Xukun had previously parked, they found all their belongings packed neatly into a bag that was seating on top of the car. And while Zhengting was relieved, he couldn’t help cursing whoever who thought of this idea in his head.

“I wonder what were they expecting us to do. To steal and get caught or to run out naked in this freezing cold.” Zhengting complained as he got into the car, amusing Xukun to no end which was what led to the latter finally acting on his urge and pinching the two rounds cheeks that had turned all red and cold from the winds. 

Seemingly having caught on to Zhengting’s general lack of experience in all things fun, the watchers dared them to go to club. And it was then a thought surfaced in Zhengting’s mind, “Is it that obvious that I have never clubbed before?”

Surrounded by the glaring lights and pounding music, Zhengting found himself ushered into a club for the first time ever. And it only took him barely a minute for him to decide nope, this was not the kind of place for him. There were too many people, everything was too loud, people were too close.

Despite his general dislike for such a chaotic environment though, he did not have the urge to leave there and then. He may not return, but given that he was there, maybe it was fine to try and enjoy this first experience? Who knows what would happen. Besides, he wasn’t alone. And if Zhengting was to be honest to himself, he was indeed curious to see how Xukun would be like in such an environment.

And that was how Zhengting ended up throwing glances at Xukun the whole time the latter tried guiding them both to the bar. With all his attention on Xukun, it would come as no surprise how Zhengting failed to notice all the attention they were receiving from the crowd around them.

Being two tall, good looking dudes decked out in name brands, they managed to capture the attention of many from the moment they set foot in the place. And not to mention how alluring they each looked with they fancy new get up.

So when Zhengting received his next dare to dance, there was no hesitation in him, his brain diving right at the thought of dancing for Xukun and not quite realising the stir he was creating.

While Zhengting was not at the center of the dance floor, he remained the center of attention, as though the world was revolving around him, and that regardless of where he was, the charm in him could not be overshadowed.

Having not wandered off too deep into the crowd, Zhengting broke into a dance where he could still see Xukun and his reaction. While he had took a while to ease into whatever song was playing, seeming a little lost and meek despite his overall alluring appearance, the shyness was gone once he started dancing.

Every little move of his was sharp and confident but still managing to exude elegance, the dancer in him showing despite the boisterous surroundings. In a way, this made Zhengting stand out even more, seeming so tantalising yet so unattainable, reminding everyone of just how little he belonged here.

While to many, the way Zhengting moved and looked may be seducing, all Xukun could see was the way he was just having fun. Did Xukun enjoy the dance? Of course. But the innocent and unconcealed look of enjoyment on Zhengting’s face was what Xukun treasured the most.

And unknowingly, an affectionate little smile tugged at Xukun’s lips, which in turn caused flutters in Zhengting’s chest.

While all this was happening, a certain someone by the name of Lil Ghost had logged on to his watcher account. Heading straight for a certain live stream, he entered just as two of his schoolmates were seemingly flirting, throwing smirks and coy smiles at one another as one of them danced for the other who was sipping his drink tastefully, enjoying the show.

Apparently the previous dare had already ended, but Zhengting seemed as though he had not intention of stopping anytime soon.

Amused, Xiao Gui took a couple of screenshots of the two and proceeded to tag Zhengting in his post with the caption “You achieved more today than you did in two years. You know who to thank.”

After having caused way more of a stir than either of them would have liked, Zhengting was whisked off back to the bar by Xukun who was now dared by the watchers to make a drink for Zhengting.

Having spent most of the time given explaining the entire situation to the bartender, Xukun found that he barely had any time left to actually make the drink, not like he knew what he was doing anyway. And this was how he ended up just mixing in things that he believed were right after literally one line of advice from the perturbed bartender.

When the countdown hit zero, it was also when Xukun smacked the shaker tin down on the table after just barely pouring the drink out in time. Taking one look at it though, one would clearly advice against drinking it but isn’t that where the fun in nerve lies. So after accepting his own dare to one shot it, Zhengting picked it up and downed it, not wanting to let the drink seat on his palate for too long lest the taste throws him off too badly.

Surely you can’t disappoint your crush of two years by not appreciating his first ever bartending attempt.

Thankfully, all Zhengting registered upon throwing his head back was the bitter taste of the alcohol, nothing retch worthy. That being said, it didn’t take long before Zhengting’s cheeks started flushing red. And while it was no surprise for Zhengting to be blushing given how easy it was to send him turning red, Xukun had thought he looked unnaturally red this time round, “Are you alright? Are you drunk?”

Just as Xukun was guiding Zhengting out of the crowded club, with Zhengting insisting he was not drunk, that he just tended to blush after drinking, a certain post online had become the topic of discussion in the watcher’s chat.

W12834: hey, seems like someone has a crush  
W08235: two years??? wow  
W52738 just entered the stream  
W89546: what do you guys think about a confession scene  
W73976: oh spicy  
W83474: are you thinking what I’m thinking  
W42387: hell yeah

Next dare: GO TO YOUR DORM’S ROOFTOP

“I can’t believe I am here on the rooftop on a winter night!” Zhengting complained, violently rocking his feet from the cold as he wrapped his arms even tighter around himself.

Having made it to the rooftop, the two had seated themselves on the bench, overlooking the entire school courtyard. It was quiet, with the sound of the cold winter winds blowing against their faces being the only source of sound besides the occasional rumble of traffic. The place was pretty much empty, most people having left for the holidays. Despite the harsh winds, it was surprisingly calming, the peace contrasting strongly with how the rest of the day had been.

Turning to look at Zhengting, Xukun found that the former’s flush had subsided a little after getting some fresh air. But the red that used to be on his cheeks seemed to have travelled to his nose now as he kept sniffing from the cold. 

“Smart move bringing a scarf along, Xukun,” he told himself as he leaned forward to wrap his scarf around Zhengting, making sure to fluff it up enough so that it covered his neck and the lower half of his face completely. Just as Xukun was about to return to his previous position, he gave in to the voice inside his head and gave Zhengting’s red nose a little poke.

The whole time, Zhengting found himself a little dazed, not quite knowing how to react. Is this even really happening? But before he managed to gather his thoughts, a familiar alert sound came from his phone again. 

Picking it up to check out his next dare, Zhengting could feel his heart sinking instantly. Without a moment’s hesitation, he rejected the dare. Not even sparing the page that popped up afterwards a look, Zhengting switched off his phone and threw it into his coat pocket. 

Having witnessed the whole thing, Xukun asked if anything was wrong but all he got in return was Zhengting saying he had bailed.

The moments afterwards was spent in complete silence, with Zhengting refusing to look at Xukun while the latter couldn’t stop checking on him. When Xukun too received a dare, the same alert sounding, he continued to check out Zhengting’s reaction and decided to bail too. What was the dare that he had bailed? He had no clue, his brain and eyes having narrowed in on the “REJECT’ button, merely catching a glimpse of neon in the process.

Realising what Xukun had done, Zhengting told him he didn’t have to but in return, he received a sincere, “I want to.” The soft yet deep voice tugging at Zhengting’s heart, causing it to skip a beat. Wanting to know what sort of expression Xukun was currently having, Zhengting was tempted to turn and look at him. But just as he was about to do so, he stopped himself, continuing to look straight at the courtyard instead.

“Wow, today sure was crazy. If I hadn’t joined the game, I would probably have just stayed home and gamed all day,” wanting to fill the silence that had gotten slightly oppressing for the first time that day, Xukun started chatting about whatever random topics that had appeared in his head. 

“That’s boring.” Zhengting commented, a slight smile on his lips.

“Then, what would you be doing?”

“Practicing, watching dramas, same as you I guess. That’s why I know it’s boring. Boring is me.”

Pausing for a short moment, Xukun continued, “Do you want everyday to be like today?”

This time, it was Zhengting’s turn to pause, considering his answer to the question, what if he lived everyday like today. 

“No… It’s too draining…”

“Well then, it looks like we are the same,” Xukun replied immediately, “But I know there’s something about today that I want everyday.”

With this, Zhengting turned to look at Xukun for the first time since they got here, eyebrows raised slightly as though asking for the other to continue. The two stared straight into each other’s eyes, neither looking away as though they were themselves sinking into the stars in each other’s eyes.

“You.”

For a moment, it was as though Zhengting had sunk into a daze, his brain not quite processing what was happening as his body was stunned in shock. But before he could sink into another never ending black hole of self-doubt, he allowed himself to just accept what had happened as it is. There was no need to question it, all that mattered was whether he liked it or not.

“I guess we are similar in this aspect too.”

Reaching his hand over, Xukun took Zhengting’s hand out of his coat pocket and into his own, lacing their fingers together underneath the warm wool of his coat. 

“My last dare was to confess.” Zhengting shared, but before Xukun could misunderstand, he added, “I bailed because I didn’t want it to be because of a dare. I have liked you for two years now. Guess I am not good at hiding it, everyone could tell.”

“I don’t know about everyone else but I know I could tell. I can see it in your eyes.” Xukun said, leaning closer, “Can you see it in mine?”

As the two stared into the depths of each other’s eyes again, it was as though there was a force pulling them towards each other as they leaned closer and closer with each passing moment until they met in the middle, lips brushing against one another in the peaceful night of the winter. 

So here’s to more uneventful days huddled in the dorm, gaming and watching dramas together.

As Zhengting was dancing in his practice room, you can now find a certain someone by the name of Cai Xukun seated at the sides, watching the other endearingly. And when the song ended, Zhengting would always turn to meet the other’s gaze, cheeks turning a soft pink as he smiled sweetly in return. 

Just because it’s uneventful doesn’t mean it’s not worth living.

**Author's Note:**

> hi whoever is reading this, i am finally back. sorry it took so long, i thought i'll be back in dec but i got myself an internship instead and it's just been draining the life out of me. i am now on holidays now so i'll try and get back to writing as much as possible. i'll be on exchange the next sem so i might still be able to keep posting after my sem has started, at least i hope i can. i have quite a lot of fics planned so hopefully i can get to all of them! 
> 
> thank you for reading! hope you enjoyed this!


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